The present invention relates to an electrical connector, particularly a connector provided with a fitting detecting function.
One example of a connector provided with a fitting detecting member for checking the fitting state of male and female connector housings is desribed in JP 11-26089. This connector has a locking arm provided on an upper face of a female housing that fits within a hood of a male connector, this locking arm engaging with a locking member provided in the male connector. A pair of protecting walls protrude from left and right sides of the locking arm, and a detecting member is attached to the posterior of the locking arm. The detecting member can be inserted from a waiting position at the exterior of the locking arm to an operating position within a bending space of the locking arm. While the locking arm is in a bent state while the two housings are being fitted together, the detecting member makes contact with the locking arm, thereby preventing further movement of the detecting member towards the operating position. That is, the fitting state of the two housings can be detected according to whether the detecting member moves or not.
A pair of detecting arms extend towards the anterior from the detecting member. The anterior ends of these resilient stopping arms engage with a posterior end face of the protecting wall, thereby preventing the detecting member from moving from the waiting position towards the anterior. Outwardly extending protrusions (extending to the exterior of the protecting wall) are provided on side faces of the resilient stopping arm. Inner faces of the hood of the male housing engage with the outwardly extending protrusions while the two housings are being fitted together, thereby bending the detecting arms inwards and releasing them from their retained state with the protecting wall. This allows the detecting member to be pushed in towards the operating position. After the detecting member has been pushed in to the operating position, the detecting arms are maintained in a bent state whereby the outwardly extending protrusions make contact with the inner faces of the hood, the resilient force of the detecting arms preventing the detecting member from leaving the operating position.
While the connector is being used after the fitting operation has taken place, the resilient stopping arm remains in a bent state. If the resilient stopping arm remains in this state for a long period, the creep phenomenon may affect the resilience thereof, and the resilient stopping arm may lose its resilience.
Consequently, after the connector has temporarily been separated for maintenance or the like, it is possible that the detecting member cannot be maintained in the waiting position or the operating position when the two housings are again fitted together. The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a connector wherein a resilient stopping arm does not lose its resilience.
According to the invention there is provided a connector comprising a first housing having a hood and a second housing insertable within said hood in a fitting direction to a fully inserted condition, the second housing having a bendable latching arm extending in the fitting direction and engageable with a latch member of said first housing in the fully inserted condition, and the connector further including a detecting member movable from a waiting position to an advanced condition in which said detecting member enters a bending space of said latching arm to prevent bending movement thereof, wherein said second housing has upstanding side walls extending in the fitting direction on either side of said latching arm and at a distance therefrom, said detecting member having two resilient legs extending respectively between said latching arm and a corresponding side wall, each leg having an outwardly extending protrusion engageable through a corresponding aperture of a said respective side wall and for maintaining said detecting member in the waiting position, said hood being adapted to engage said protrusions on insertion of said second housing, and to force said protrusions inwards through the respective aperture to a releasing condition, and said side walls having respective openings to receive said protrusions in the advanced condition of said detecting member, thereby to retain said detecting member in said bending space, the first housing having recesses within said hood to accommodate said protusions in the fully inserted condition of said second housing thereby permitting said legs to be unbent in the advanced condition of the detecting member.
Such an arrangement ensures that the resilient legs of the detecting member do not lose resilience during the period of connection of the housings.
Preferably the recesses of the hood comprises channels open to the rear side, thus permitting moulding of the first housing without the use of removable inserts.
Preferably associated contact surfaces of the protrusion, first housing and second housing are chamfered or tapered sufficiently to ensure good operability.